Omega Pharma's Andre Greipel to return to training on Saturday

Good news for Andre Greipel following his unfortunate crash warming up for the opening team time trial at Tirreno-Adriatico on Wednesday: he'll be back on his bike on Saturday.

Following the training crash that resulted from some semi-hidden large holes in the pavement on the team time trial circuit, the German managed to take the start and contribute to his team's effort in the TTT. Starting Stage 2 was just not possible after considerable swelling set in overnight.

Dropping out of Tirreno-Adriatico before the first road stage was a big blow in Greipel's buildup for the critical, final Milano-Sanremo preparation race. While the likes of La Primavera hopes Farrar, Hushovd, Petacchi, and others were honing their form and sprinting for the win, Greipel was waiting on a plane back to Germany to undergo more testing on his face to make sure that nothing was broken.

While the crash was certainly a case of major bad luck, at least Greipel won't miss any significant amount of time on his bike, reports his Omega Pharma-Lotto team via Twitter.

"Good news from Andre Greipel! Nothing is broken, just a little bit infected. Tomorrow, he can be back on his bike."

It is still not entirely certain, however, whether Greipel will be able to make the start of La Classicissima in Milano in one week's time. If the slightly-infected wounds in his face heal in reasonable fashion, he should be fine to start Milano-Sanremo and take up his spot as co-leader in Omega Pharma's two-pronged attack: Philippe Gilbert for the possible Poggio break and Greipel for the bunch sprint.